The Serb is prepared to use the loan market this summer to reshape a squad relegated from the Premier League last season, as the loss of top-flight football and the subsequent drop in income prepares to be felt at Bramall Lane.
But scouring the top-flight for young talent is not necessarily such a bad thing. Swansea utilised that approach to good effect last season, reaching the play-off final with Chelsea’s Marc Guéhi in their backline, while both Norwich and Watford borrowed from top-flight clubs on their way to sealing automatic promotion.
Here are eight top-flight youngsters the Blades could turn to ahead of the new Championship season, which begins early next month at home to Birmingham…
But scouring the top-flight for young talent is not necessarily such a bad thing. Swansea utilised that approach to good effect last season, reaching the play-off final with Chelsea’s Marc Guéhi in their backline, while both Norwich and Watford borrowed from top-flight clubs on their way to sealing automatic promotion.